u/Avilola

I haven’t read the books, so this is based entirely on the show.

So I’ve seen a lot of people question whether or not Commander Mackenzie is a good guy because of how he appears to care for Agnes. I don’t think he’s a good guy (after all, he’s directly responsible for destroying the lives of millions of women), but I think he could prove to be a hypocrite. The type of leader who expects everyone to follow the rules, but when those rules no longer suit him, expect an exception for his circumstances.

He’s constantly asking Agnes how she feels. If she’s happy. If her marriage is what she wants. Then he says under his breath, “this is the way it has to be” as if he’s trying to convince himself he’s made the right decision by backing the Sons of Jacob. I think maybe he’s finally starting to question his actions now that he sees someone he loves having to deal with the consequences.

As we know, Agnes is set to marry Commander Weston. He seems somewhat sweet on the surface, wanting her to enjoy their wedding and helping her stand up to her imposing stepmother. If we recall however, during the episode where Rita is preparing Daisy to go into Gilead, she shows her files on various high commanders within Gilead. The camera hovers on Weston’s file for a bit, and we see that he has a long history of domestic violence charges pre-Gilead.

It’s only a matter of time before Commander Weston flips a switch on Agnes and starts beating her black and blue. Could seeing that be the straw that breaks the camel’s back on whatever resolve Commander Mackenzie has that Gilead is doing the right thing? We’ve seen that Mackenzie has contacts that he shouldn’t in Japan. That could be an easy way for him to start reaching out to anti-Gilead groups.

Just a thought, let me know yours!

Edit: One thing I forget to mention in the post, it’s also probably going to get back to him that Agnes was being molested by Dr. Grove. Just another example of horrible things that are happening to the “daughter” he cares for.